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Echo (episode)
"Echo" is the original pilot of Dollhouse, which was was written and directed by Joss Whedon. Produced in April/May 2008, "Echo" contained the first footage of Dollhouse ever to be released to public. "Echo" was the first episode written and shot, but it was pushed back by Whedon to become the second episode because of "a few clarity issues for some viewers" and "some slight issues with tone". By October 2008, "Echo" disappeared from official episode listings, since it has been used for parts in other episodes of Season 1. It is therefore not considered canonical or part of the first season, but it was, however, included as a special feature on the Dollhouse Season One DVD. . Premise When FBI Agent Paul Ballard gets ahold of a picture showing Echo, Adelle's operation is in danger of being exposed. She sends Echo and Victor to get rid of Agent Ballard. In the meantime, Echo, Victor and Sierra show signs of bonding during lunch, although they should not remember each other after a wipe. Engagements Cast Main Cast *Eliza Dushku as Echo *Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton *Fran Kranz as Topher Brink *Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard *Enver Gjokaj as Victor *Dichen Lachman as Sierra *and Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt Guest Stars *Amy Acker as Claire Saunders *Maury Sterling as Eddie *Raphael Sbarge as Richard *Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic *Stacey Scowley as Bride *Clayton Rohner as Marc Dreyfuss *Aisha Hinds as Loomis *Giovanni Lopes as Thug *Jenni Fontana as Friend *Ashley Johnson as Wendy Background Information Production Writing Whedon pitched Dollhouse to Fox two weeks before the 2007-2008 WGA strike and got a seven-episode order without even having begun to write a pilot episode. After the strike ended, Whedon started working on the scripts, "Echo" being the first episode. The first writer's draft is dated March 7th, 2008. The script is 53 pages long, divided into four acts (14, 15, 13 and 11 pages). Some of the casting sides for "Echo" leaked on the internet in March 2008. The whole script leaked in December 2008. Filming Production began on April 23rd, 2008 with principal photography taking place from May 6th to May, 12th . Reshoots at the behest of Fox were made in June , with four of the seven days of shooting being reshot. These reshoots may be connected to the fact that "Echo" was pushed back to become the second episode of the series instead of the first as originally intended. Removal }}Joss Whedon described this move by being his choice, not the network's: "I sort of go, hmmm, some of it I think maybe they didn’t get, and some of it, you know what, I didn’t deliver on it in the way that I should have." Whedon also said: "I looked at it with a very cold eye, an executive’s eye, and said, 'OK, I know what they want that they don’t have.' I don’t want to gut this pilot episode. I’m proud of this episode. Everybody did a really good job. There are scenes I want to tweak and changes I want to make, but if I go to the network and say, 'I’m going to give you a new first episode,' they will be excited – they didn’t have to ask for it." "Echo" was eventually left out of episode listings by October 2008. On October 26th, Whedon commented on that: "The original pilot was in fact thrown out. Again, at my behest. Once it became clear what paradigm the Network was shooting for, it just didn't fit at all, even after I'd reshot more than half of it (see above re: despair). To get a sense of how completely turned around I was during this process, you should know there was a scene with Eliza and the astonishing Ashley Johnson that I wrote and shot completely differently three different times, with different characters in different places (actually I wrote it closer to eight times), and none of it will ever see air. Which is as it should be (though I'm determined to get Ms. Johnson back in the future)." Reception Script Reviews of the script started showing up by the end of April 2008. Generally praised by critics, the script was particularly applauded for the "change of pace", considering "Echo" has a four-acts structure without a teaser. This being unusual both for TV standards and Joss Whedon - together with the fact that the four acts are almost equal in length - was applauded, as "Whedon doesn’t have to force the drama up into unnatural cliffhanging pre-commercial moments" and "the story has the room to unfold in a natural manner, not trying to hit more artificial breaks" . General reviews called the script "fabulous", "thought provoking", "rad" , "super-sexy" , and "a beautiful enigma wrapped in a riddle, a gripping conspiracy story for the ages filled with urban legends, memory tampering, and long-buried secrets coming to the fore" . The script "builds into a mystery that's as much philosophical as science fiction" and "mixes elements of the conspiracy thriller with what threatens to become a profound meditation on identity". It was also pointed out that "this could be Whedon's most accessible work to date" and "much more than preaching to the converted". Episode First reviews of the episode call it a "solid opener" with "huge potential for fun (...) which people aren't yet aware of -- and heartbreak people aren't expecting". Notes & references External links *"Echo" at TV.com